Scared Child

A girl looked up at me from her buggy as I took her photo with the wide angle lens of my camera. This was taken just after the St. Patrick’s Day Parade this year and the place was black with people, especially outside the The Larry Tompkins pub so no wonder she was a little upset. Mum can be seen in the background, looks like they’re going home.

Today is the calm before the storm. I woke up to quiet. Oscar is with my family, Jacinta and Adam are still in the hospital. Tomorrow, everyone comes home probably, although Jacinta could do with an extra day.

Thank you to everyone who commented yesterday (and here too!) I’m bringing my laptop into the CUMH this afternoon to share with Jacinta all the good will and wishes left by you and everyone else!

PS. Good luck to Donal and Celine who are off to Lesotho today for 10 days. They have a long jounrey ahead of them but I know they’re going to do some great work out there, the money they’ve raised will be well spent and I’m looking forward to the photos!

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/320s

Mother and baby on the street

A mother and her baby stroll along St. Patrick’s Street Cork. This was taken last September in beautiful Autumn weather.

This morning started with a bang when Jacinta woke me at 5am because an ear infection was bothering her so much. We went to South Doc who were absolutely useless and sent us to the Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH) where we spent over two hours waiting to be seen by a doctor – the doctor who showed up explained that it was the worst time of the day to show up as they’re doing their morning rounds. We finally got a prescription from him. More fun at the CUMH!

This evening we’ll go to the maternity hospital again where Jacinta will begin the induction process. We’re both hoping it won’t be long and drawn out but it’s very likely that we’ll be parents at some stage tomorrow.

Thanks to all who have been in touch, I’m going to be busy texting after the birth!

Aperture ƒ/4.5
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/1250s

Expectation

Car drivers rev their engines in anticipation of the lights changing at a busy junction.

This is the junction of Bridge Street, Patrick’s Quay, and Patrick’s Bridge in Cork. This photo was taken from the far left of Yellow Boxes. Patrick’s Hill is visible in background as you follow the road up the incline.

Bloody dangerous junction too. Very busy one.

No sign of baby yet, I guess it’ll be tomorrow. Stand by your Twitter for updates!

Aperture ƒ/13
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/320s

A motorbike’s shadow

A motorbike sits half in shadow creating an almost monochrome image. It was parked on a hill in San Francisco last year.

This is actually a moped, and I found much more on the subject on the Wikipedia page on Mopeds.

Aperture ƒ/8
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/250s

Looking up at Union Square

A festival or competition was being held on the beautiful August day we wandered through Union Square, San Francisco. It provided ample inspiration for photos although we didn’t linger long because we wanted to see more of the city.

The statue pictured is in the center of the Square and, “commemorates Admiral Dewey’s Spanish-American War victory at Manila Bay.” Here’s more and more on Union Square and the history behind it.

Department stores, Fifth Avenue and Tiffany & Co can be clearly seen in the background, it’s the center of the shopping world in San Francisco!

Aperture ƒ/11
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/320s

San Francisco Tourists

Tourists stopped on the sidewalk off Union Square in San Francisco last summer. Despite the city’s reputation for fog the day was sunny and clear.

I had a great time doing some street photography of course!

Aperture ƒ/10
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/200s

Blue skies contrail and clouds

A wall of the Beamish and Crawford Brewery blocks the sun in this shot taken on South Main Street, Cork.

Blue skies are great for sun worshippers but photographers don’t like them. It’s always better to have some cloud or interest in the sky. The fluffier and more solid the better, as long as some blue sky can be seen.

Aperture ƒ/14
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/400s

Daisies in the ruins

Boarded up windows, grey walls, overgrown vegetation. It can only be an Irish hospital right?

This is the final picture in my Old Hospital series.

Beautiful – Lough Gill, 2

Aperture ƒ/7.1
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 18mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/125s

Daisy drops of rain

Rain drops show on the white petals of a daisy that struggles amid the ruins of an old hospital building.

I wonder if that building is still there? I’ll have to go look someday.

Aperture ƒ/6.3
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 200mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/125s

Doorway into the gloom

Taken almost a year ago, this doorway leads into an old building on the grounds of a hospital in Cork. A cherry blossom can be seen blooming outside contrasting with the gloom and ruin of the interior.

While on the hospital theme, I wrote up our experiences at the new Cork University Maternity Hospital yesterday. They have major problems there and most of them can be traced back to under staffing of the facility.

This photo was made from two exposures. I didn’t use a tripod, instead placing the camera on a chair to avoid any shakes. I quickly bracketed a few shots and merged them together later in the GIMP.

Aperture ƒ/3.5
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 18mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/30s

Father and son in the square

A father and his offspring walk about after the parade on St. Patrick’s Day in Cork this year. Normally this is a busy junction but it was closed off for a few hours to make way for the festivities.

Patrick’s Street can be seen in the background with the statue of Fr. Mathew rising into the air.

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/500s

Girls on the street

St. Patrick’s Day brought out a huge crowd onto the streets and here’s a group of girls we bumped into on Patrick’s Street.

We were on our way to a cafe for refreshment when I spotted a bicycle chained to a pole, but it had fallen down. As is my way I crouched down to get a shot of the wheel and the pole receding into the sky and when I got up this group of girls were looking at me. One asked what I was doing and of course I had to take their photo since they were enjoying themselves so much!

PS. Thank you Meg for linking to my blog at Cute Overload. Your blog must do some savage amount of traffic if referrers from your site are anything to go by. I did as much traffic here yesterday as I’d normally do on ocaoimh.ie!
PPS. Greetings to Zefrank too. I agree, check out the show, although can there be anyone left who hasn’t seen Ze Frank at least once?

I like these. Claire went exploring an old house: part 1, part 2.

I like these too – Donal’s Stomp photos are particularly good especially as they were taken at a live performance and in a darkened theatre! Very good!

Aperture ƒ/5.6
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 13mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/40s